Atkins appetite suppression

[Nancy LC]

Sona brought up something that has me thinking. She wondered what that source of appetite depression is. Is is just low carbs and ketosis? I don't think it is because I can eat 20g a day, presumably be in ketosis (don't have the sticks at the moment) and I won't get the suppression. I have to fight my appetite tooth and nail.

I tend to eat a low meat, high veggie Atkins diet. Meat is usually only at one meal everything else is veggies (salads) or flax meal and that sort of thing. When I eat a lot of meat, I get that appetite suppression thing going. And eggs seem to trigger it too. The last couple of days, I've been hitting the meat and eggs a little harder and my appetite is just about non-existant. A light bulb is going off over my head. Oh yeah, I also ordered some beef jerkey and I've been snacking on that instead of my usual low carb yogurt or milk.

Anyone else have any observations about what causes appetite suppression to kick in?

[Cissie]

For me I simply don't get hungry when I stay below 20 carbs a day. No matter what I eat it just seems like my appetite vanishes. I honestly have to make myself eat! I really thought this was odd. But maybe it's not just me. Earlier I posted something that I am wondering if any of you could clarify for me. When eating LC I have so much energy. Yet our energy is suppose to come from carbs, right? How bout all of you? Also, you mentioned depression. I suffer from a condition called fibromyalgia which also includes depression. Thing is not only does my pain ease way off when I'm on LC but so does the depression.
Sorry if I've gotten off track of your original posting. But you stirred up some thoughts.

Best wishes to you on reaching your goal real soon!

Cissie

[Nancy LC]

Well, I meant appetite depression, not mood depression. :)
I'm glad the diet is helping your problem though! You get your energy through ketones, or other means, on low carb, not carbs (for the most part). Your body turns some of the protein you eat into glucose for those bits of you that can't operate off ketones. Clever design, eh? Lots of other folks reported easing of mood depression when they went on low carb too. Pretty nice side-effect!

[BD231]

Fats signal the brain that you are full.

When the body is using ketones for fule the body assumes limited amounts of food are available and turns of hunger signals.

Very limited insulin release plays a huge part as well.

[MyJourney]

protein and fat are both known to be very satiating.

[Nancy LC]

This isn't just satiety! This is appetite suppression. I did the Banta thing and really hit the fats hard. I was getting about 70-80% of my calories from fat. I didn't feel this appetite suppression like this. It was more of a bloated feeling all the time, but I'd still get hungry while having that bloated feeling. I was eating more fats and dairy versus meat.

This feeling is like my interest in food is just gone, I don't have any appetite. Its very different from how I felt on my high fat experiment.

[4beans4me]

You know Nancy, this is a really interesting Q. I usually stay around 20 net and in ketosis, but notice some days are gnaw your arm off you are SO hungry days, yet others I have no interest in food..

[Dylan]

Ok- I understand what you mean by appetite suppresion and I feel the same way when i increase my intakeof meat and eggs. Although my fat percentage is still around 70%, i was also wondering if it was the combination of fat and protein or more so one than the other? Most days that i have been alert, slpet well through the night ad most inportantly been able to curb appetite has happened when I consume a larger percentage of protein (tuna/eggs/chicken drums are my staples). I eat between 4-8 eggs a day.

[jadeca]

You know Nancy, this is a really interesting Q. I usually stay around 20 net and in ketosis, but notice some days are gnaw your arm off you are SO hungry days, yet others I have no interest in food..
You know, I hear that this happens quite often, and the end result of being SO hungry like this some days and not others is usually the all-coveted WHOOSH of dropping some poundage! It might be interesting to keep tabs on your 'hungry' days and see if it corresponds with a drop on the scale! I think I will start doing that myself...

[kidnj]

It's the protein... the fat will help you feel full, but the protein actually "nourishes" you. Sugary carby things (but this is also true for veggies) don't have much protein to speak of, so even if they're fattening, they're not filling.

"Appetite and food choice
Hunger and satiety are the result of complex physiological processes. Following specific signals (e.g. blood depletion of nutrients, empty stomach), the sensation of hunger arises and creates the need for eating food. As food is eaten satiation will take place leading to the termination of the eating occasion and bringing a state of no hunger called satiety. The balance between hunger, stimulating appetite, and food intake, satisfying appetite and bringing satiety, is controlled by the central nervous system. Satiety signals play a role in influencing the timing of the next meal, and can also influence the size of a subsequent meal. Satiety is known to play a role in energy regulation.

The macro-nutrients i.e. carbohydrates, proteins, fats, also generate satiety signals of varying strength. The balance of evidence suggests that fat has the lowest satiating power, carbohydrates have an intermediate effect and protein has been found to be the most satiating (1). Independent of fat content, low energy density diets generate greater satiety than high energy density diets, suggesting that an important regulatory signal may be the weight or volume of food consumed."
d.

[nikkil]

You know, I hear that this happens quite often, and the end result of being SO hungry like this some days and not others is usually the all-coveted WHOOSH of dropping some poundage! It might be interesting to keep tabs on your 'hungry' days and see if it corresponds with a drop on the scale! I think I will start doing that myself...

I've noted it twice. It's probably happened before but I didn't pay attention. Anyway, twice now I've had days where I seem to be constantly hungry and I've been staying on plan and not going over 20g carbs. I'll just want to keep having something to eat and I'm really hungry - it's not boredom/emotional eating. I'll snack, tho, and have a bit of meat with cheese, then have a small salad with meat in it, then have an egg, etc. Both times I had a drop of 2 lbs the next morning!

I don't confuse this hunger, tho, with the times that I've had something off plan the day before or just gone well over my carb limit and that hunger is triggered by insulin changes from the boost in carbs.

I'm going to vote that it's the protein. Even before LCing I noticed that if I had eggs for breakfast I made it to lunch without being hungry but if I had toast/cereal I would be starving before my coffee break.

Right now I'm going thru a bad spell of just not feeling like eating. I'll get super-hungry, especially by breakfast, and need to eat but nothing appeals to me and I just don't want to eat. When I just make myself eat I feel better but I have to make myself. Then, I'll go along for hours and hours without eating even tho I know I should have something and then finally, when I'm so hungry I'm going crazy and feel sick THEN I'll eat something but only to get rid of that feeling. I plan on solving this by making something really appetizing today and enough of it so that when I get hungry I can go and have something right away and it's appealing to me.

TC,
Nicole

[BadgerGirl]

Anyone else have any observations about what causes appetite suppression to kick in?
Eat meat and fat + Avoid high glycemic carbs (e.g., starchy veggies and sweets) = reduced hunger and cravings.

[jimmurphym]

Coffee has ZERO carbs! Caffeine will cause hunger & cravings.

[jamian]

It's the protein... the fat will help you feel full, but the protein actually "nourishes" you. Sugary carby things (but this is also true for veggies) don't have much protein to speak of, so even if they're fattening, they're not filling.

kidnj, how is it exactly that protein is "nourishing" while fat and carbs are not? And your other coments are intriguing but seem to be counter to most people's experience. Do you have a citation for refference, I'd be fascinated to read it. Also, the satiety rankings you give the macronutrients; are they based on mass, volume, or calorie value? This would make a big difference because the same mass of fat and carb foods are usually very different sizes and carbs swell up making you feel full, but only for a short time. Is this sustained satiation or just evaluated immediately following injestion? If you give me an author and a date I can find this information in the study if it is on PubMed. Thanks.

[Nancy LC]

I don't think it's a protein versus fat thing because I actually got a lot of my protein from dairy products and nuts before this heavy meat experiment. This is just a phenomenon that I find interesting and was wondering if it happens to anyone else.

It always seemed like I had my best losses when I was eating lots of eggs and meat but I never really put it together before.

I'd call satiety feeling "full" or satisfied after eating and appetite suppression as not feeling full, but being uninterested in eating and lacking hunger.

[nikkil]

it's steady insulin levels, too. Carbs are going to get it fluctuating but protein helps to keep it stable. Also, protein takes longer to digest so you're satisfied for longer.

Whatever the reason, I love that I'm not hungry all the time, craving and gaining :)

[Dylan]

I second what NiKil said. The fact that I can smell or see sugary or high carby foods around and not be as tempted to eat and eat and eat some more, gives me pleasure and that control back. So, Im sticking to high protein, more often. Still high in good fats but increasing the protein, for me, allows me (through stable blood sugar levels) to go for 3 meals a day and maybe one tiny snack without wanting to or feel the need to eat more. I also, experience that feeling of having to fuel my body even though I know I dont want to eat and it has been 5-6-7 hours since my last meal.
Bottom line: Whatever I am doing, it's working with more mental clarity and confidence than I have had in a while- so Im gonna stick to it.
I realized that my previous attempts at Atkins and low carbing worked but perhaps, that confidence lead me to sneak alittle. Follow the plan as it says in the beginning and I can now pinpoint "gives" that threw me off. There are reasons why he gives "rules" for induction. They are simple and everything goes as planned if you follow them. HUH! Guess I really wasn't the exception in the entire world!

[Lipid]

Nancy

I notice the same thing with meat and eggs and its probably one thing that makes the meat/egg fast work so well also... you just don't feel hungry much at all when on it.

[koloca]

When the body is using ketones for fule the body assumes limited amounts of food are available and turns of hunger signals..

The body doesn't use ketones for fuel. ketones is a by product that the body produces when burning fat for fuel, and then gets disposed through the urine (hence the urine strip tests) breath (hence the ketosis breath) and sweat.

[VickySail]

Nancy,

I find if I eat something that has a sweet taste (like the yogurt), it seems to keep my appetite more active. I have been fighting my ravenous appetite for the last few days, and guess what? I had introduced cottage cheese with sugarfree syrup on it.

I think TOM and vitamin B complex also has something to do with it... when I up the Bs, hunger rises too. And of course, we all know what happens a week before TOM. ;)

[Nancy LC]

Well, my no-appetite zen is gone. I'm trying to get it back by eating 2 eggs this morning, large piece of chicken for lunch. I think I'm onto something with the meat and eggs. Maybe I'll have an omelet for dinner instead of my usual large salad and see how that works.

[MammaC]

Even though I am in ketosis, some days I am just more hungry than others. Some days I am just starving all day, and other days I am not very hungry at all. I eat pretty much the same way every day, so I don't really know what makes it that way.

[weigh down]

Hi this is all very interesting I have experienced much of what everybody is talking about the more Protein I eat the more satisfied I am if I add carbs the hungrier I get on two or three occasions I have done what I call a meat fast nothing but meat, and lots of water and on two occasions experienced an overnight drop of four pounds I only do this to break stalls and it works everytime a friend of mine did it and she too dropped four overnight and maintained it too.I have to remind myself to eat when I stay at the 20 gm level I virtually could do without for a very long time.It is a good feeling feeling like you're in control instead of your cravings. sign me


weigh down

[Nancy LC]

I'm definitely going to eat more meat and eggs and see if I spend more time in the no-appetite zen-zone. I just gotta do some extra cooking this weekend!

[Dylan]

Im not necessarily on a meat/egg fast, just use them as the mainstay in my eating choices. I make suer to include the veggies becuase even though I feel no appetite, I feel more lethargic (just a little) than when i exclude them. Besides, Dr. Atkins says there is no more of an advantage when reducing them below 20grms and during a fast, they are reduced to under 10. Although, Im sure some might feel the advantage, I don't.